Title

Author

Date of Award

Document Type

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Department of English: English Studies

First Advisor

Gabriel M. Gudding

Abstract

This dissertation features a combination of critical and creative work

exploring the ethics of appropriative writing and the reparative potential of homophonic translation. The opening essay examines the ethics of appropriation- based poetry and introduces the concept of what I call "appositional writing," a term to describe ethically-minded works of poetry that make use of appropriative writing methods. The next three parts of this dissertation are each appositional writing projects that make use of homophonic translation as the primary method of composition. "Arizona State Bill 1070: An Act" is a homophonic translation of the anti-immigration bill of the same name. In this work, I investigate at various points the idea of borders, the necessity of migration, the politics of race and language, and xenophobia. "How I Pitched the First Curve" is a sequence of ten different homophonic translations of an article written by William Arthur "Candy" Cummings that describes Cummings' invention of the curveball in the early days of organized baseball. With each translation, I examine various social issues that are as deeply rooted within the game of baseball as they are in American culture. In "Is Ryan Clark a Monster?" I interrogate my own potential for domination and violence by delving into personal trauma, incorporating homophonic translations of text message responses from friends and family to the question "Is Ryan Clark a monster?". This dissertation concludes with a pedagogical essay discussing the potential benefits of teaching appropriative writing in an introductory-level creative writing course. Throughout this dissertation I hope to show that as authors increasingly turn to appropriative writing methods and incorporate found language into their work, it is important to examine the various ethical risks involved with the act of appropriation, both in our respective writing communities and in our classrooms.